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The Key Moments inPayments This Month

Caribbean central bank exploring digital currency

The prospect of central banks tapping into digital currency is becoming more realistic. In August, Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Barbados-based fintech company, Bitt. The MoU is there to allow the pair to explore the feasibility of creating a digital currency that will be able to support digital payments within the monetary union of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Santander and Moneybox app partner for Open Banking initiative

A first for Moneybox app as it becomes the first third-party player to launch an Open Banking integration with Santander. The partnership between Moneybox and Santander will support customers in saving and budgeting their spare change on a daily basis. With the launch now live, a waiting list of around 20,000 people have been notified.

Maybank moves towards a cashless Malaysia

Maybank customers are now able to make cashless payments digitally for purchases while using the Maybank App. Maybank QRPay is Malaysia’s first QR-based payments mobile wallet with direct CASA integration. It’s the first step towards a cashless Malaysia. Cash usage in the country is still high but Maybank is on the move to reverse the trend.

B mobile banking app merges with Open Banking platform

B mobile banking app offers customers innovative banking tools that enables its customers to conduct their banking tasks on one frictionless platform. By integrating with DirectID Open Banking platform, the B mobile banking app now has more access to banking data from a wider range of UK banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Group, Santander, RBS, and Nationwide. Not to mention digital banks as well, such as Starling and Monzo.

Automation in Action

The latest companies to use AI to streamline their workforce

Pandora Automates 5% of Workforce

Music streaming service and Spotify rival Pandora has announced that it is laying off about 5% of its workforce in a bid to save around $45m a year. Jobs across several departments are being automated, including advertising, marketing and investment, as part of a wider restructuring to the company in a bid to maintain its presence in the streaming market.

Online retail giant Amazon has cut hundreds of jobs at its Seattle headquarters as the company reorganises to remove older departments and shift a growing number of tasks onto AI-based software. The company, which is enjoying strong growth, is reportedly restructuring to support future ventures, cutting some operating costs in the process.

Canada-based Suncor Energy has announced the layoff of several hundred workers as the company introduces autonomous haul trucks into its Alberta-based oil sands operations. The layoffs, which have prompted strong reactions from unions, are likely to be only the start, with Suncor planning to build a fleet of over 150 driverless trucks over the next six years.

Once one of the biggest employment sources in the country, India’s IT industry saw layoffs totalling over 56,000 in 2017, and is expecting to see further job cuts in the coming year. The layoffs have been largely due to digitisation and automation, which have dramatically reduced the number of workers required to maintain current operational levels.